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Zohon
Zohon was a nation in Amitrea that existed from approximately 1375 to 786 BT. It hugged the coast of the Braccal Sea to the east, and generally bordered Stadleck to the west, Ferix to the north, and Capaza to the south. Early history As the nation of Destevik collapsed throughout the fourteenth century BT, Gunnar Yevar— an admiral and the Overst of Byukaram— launched a secessionist movement in 1375. The Destevial government had little power to repel it, and so Zohon was established along the east Amitrean coast. Gunnar's grandson, Kommendor Valdemar I, would become a capable army commander as well; he won a series of victories against Ingvar of Stadleck and conquered significant amounts of inland territory. These victories were short-lived, though; internal tensions ripped through the Zohoni nobility after Kommendor Ragnvald disappeared mysteriously in 1296 and was replaced by Harald Ormikan. Many suspected Harald of having murdered his predecessor, and so Harald spent much of his reign attempting to legitimize himself. He was then succeeded by Sigurd I (r. 1271–1255), a pacifist, under whom Zohon lost much of its recently gained land to Stadleck and Ferix. Growth of piracy Although Zohon was a small state during the later thirteenth century, it was a prosperous one, as inward-looking kommendors sought economic success for the state. However, there was a perpetual problem of Ferix dominating trade relationships, and so Kommendor Soren I (r. 1202–1178) legalized the robbery of other nations' ships in 1199 BT. Piracy quickly became one of the most lucrative trades for those on the long Zohoni coast, with powerful corsair families like the Rasjars becoming major players in all Zohon. The apex of Zohoni piracy came after Erik Rasjar, a young corsair, seized the Zohoni throne in 1151; he and his descendants frequently went on raids themselves, which many of the inland nobles enjoyed due to the Rasjars' relative inattention to them. Thus, the power of the crown deteriorated through this period, although those who could commit effective sea robbery became hugely rich. This was also a period of general border growth; Erik used the corsair navy of Zohon to wage wars of expansion against Ferix, while ambitious aristocrats waged personal campaigns against the borders of Capaza and Sogov. However, the trend toward piracy was forestalled by the Disaster of 1061. In a naval battle against Ferix, the Zohoni flagship was sunk, killing both Kommendor Erik II (r. 1076–1061) and his heir Valdemar. This caused the throne to fall to Erik's one-year-old grandson, Gyorgy (r. 1061–997). Upheaval With a young child as kommendor, the nobles of Zohon— accustomed to having limited restrictions on their behavior— began competing to become confidants and mentors to the king. This caused a long period of internal strife, throughout which royal authority was gradually restored; later in his reign, Gyorgy also began asserting himself more and more, to the displeasure of those seeking to manipulate him. In 1020, Gyorgy called for peace with the Fericians, and so he and Leonid II of Ferix signed an accord promising that naval hostilities would cease between the nations. No longer able to go raiding in Ferix, many Zohoni corsairs instead traveled further south, harassing Creofan and even Vergano; others attempted to become command ground forces, raiding Sogovite and Stadlicar territories. The land forces were mostly repelled, although the corsairs became a fairly successful menace to the Utrostani peninsula. In 991, Gyorgy Strodma— a land raider who resented the changes in Zohoni governance— launched an uprising against the reigning Kommendor Soren III (r. 997–988). This war was mostly successful, as many nobles resented the damage to their incomes and autonomy under Gyorgy I, and so Gyorgy Strodma was crowned in 988 as Kommendor Gyorgy II. Gyorgy II mostly ruled well, although he had trouble reclaiming prior Zohoni glory; however, his successor Sigurd II (r. 964–942) was met with resistance from Amadeo IV of Creofan. Amadeo was a skilled admiral, and he repeatedly outperformed the Zohoni corsairs in battle and was able to force a peace agreement from them in 954. Decline With the piracy that had brought Zohon so much success nearly neutralized, Zohon struggled in the later tenth century. There was widespread discontent about the rule of the Strodma family, and Gunnar IV (r. 942–910) suffered periodic unrest among the populace. Later Strodma monarchs would attempt to restore Zohon's glory with land expansion; Erik III (r. 871–856) was probably the most successful at this, and would seize land from both Stadleck and Sogov in his westward push. The final Strodma monarch was Gunnar VI (r. 856–838), who successfully maintained his father's land but did not expand it himself. Gunnar was a relatively indolent ruler, and was inactive about the external threats that were beginning to come from other nations; ultimately, he was assassinated by a Stadlicar nationalist in 838. As Gunnar's only son suffered from insanity and was thought unfit to rule, a succession crisis ensued, and Nils Pavemgas won the throne. Nils was a capable speaker, but not knowledgeable about rulership, and he mostly lavished money on his own hobbies; his successors were similarly apathetic to governing the nation, and so when Torvald Berthaask's Ut-Stadleck invaded Zohon in 794, the Stadlicars faced decentralized and disorganized resistance. Kommendor Gyorgy IV (r. 797–786) eventually attempted to marshal Zohoni forces, but he was too late to throw off the Stadlicar forces. In 786, Gyorgy IV attempted to lead a battle himself, but was quickly slain. Within weeks, Stadlicar forces had conquered Byukaram and the state of Zohon was dissolved. Category:Countries Category:Amitrean Countries Category:Defunct Countries